A young actress with autism makes her mark in Apple TV+’s charming indie dramedy.
You had never acted before professionally.
How was the audition process for you?
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I think he just wanted me to be what he saw.
He also said he really leaned on your input to develop the character.
What was that like?
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He would sort of just ask me questions and get my opinion on things.
And then I noticed eventually that each time we had a conversation, the script would change.
And so I started thinking “We’re not rehearsing.
I think you’re having me rewrite my lines.
“[Laughs]
So did you see Lola on the page at first?
Or at least the version that ends up on screen?
Yeah, I didn’t really.
She was originally a lot younger and maybe a little less socially aware.
[But] I didn’t realize that [Raiff] was internalizing my opinions.
I thought he was just sort of asking me what I thought because I’ve never done this.
I’ve never been in a movie before, so I thought maybe that was normal.
I didn’t really know what I was doing.
Lola is like a Jedi at Rubik’s Cubes, did that bit come from you as well?
[Laughs]I can’t do it for the life of me.
Had you been to many bar mitzvahs before you shot this?
There’s a lot happening on the dance floor.
And that was that.
Had you seen any before this that you felt got it right?
I really haven’t, besides in the last couple years or so.
So I thought maybe I was the one that needed to be different.
But recently I’ve seen a few shows about people on the spectrum.
But I don’t think they’re really anywhere close to where they should be.
Cooper told me that you’re also a writer, and a really good one.
So do you have plans maybe to fix that?
I just need someone that believes in what I have to say.
And Cooper, he kind of took matters into his own hands.
That’s was really cool.
What do you hope people will take away from Lola when they see the movie?
But also, Lola’s still a teenager, and she has a lot of teenage feelings.
What was your first meeting like?
We met on Zoom once pretty briefly.
But I get pretty nervous to meeteveryone.
But I remember feeling instantly really comfortable with her.
We started talking immediately and she had the ability to make me feel very safe, very quickly.
I usually take a while to warm up to people, but I think we just sort of connected.
Was she helpful on an acting level, since this was your first movie set?
Sorry, I should have asked first did you go to acting school?
I’ve been to a lot of acting schools.
It’s not really my thing, but I have done it.
Well, you’re free to go back now and tell them you didn’t need it.
But did you and Dakota end up talking through these characters a lot?
I’m not going to college, and she didn’t go to college either.
Do you have a favorite memory from the shoot?
I don’t socialize with people.
I don’t know very many people.
And I remember after that night kind of feeling like I had a group and I belonged.
Cooper said that he relied so much on your feedback.
What was it like when you actually saw the movie?
I saw it in my bed for the first time for Sundance.
They needed to have us all see it before just to do press.
And I remember well, first it was very dissociative, because I’d never seen myself.
I’d never heard myself speak.
It was just a very out-of-body experience.
I don’t know.
I’ve never been even remotely popular at school.
I was very confused.
So what’s next for you?
I’m auditioning all the time.
I’ve auditioned a lot since we wrapped, but haven’t quite found the right role yet.
Well, I hope too that you just get to enjoy your summer and be 18.
